(content warning: mentions of slurs, censored swearing, and a bit of body horror)
“I see you’re taking the whole, ‘looking middle-aged’ thing down a notch.” Ara told her in a joking tone, showing her a black shirt with a white cat laying down on it. “I highly doubt it’s for Aubrey anyways. Speaking of which…” Ara then swiftly folded the T-shirt and put it back in the bag before pulling out a pink one with orange and lavender stripes on it. “You definitely got this for her, didn’t you?”
“Of course! I just haven’t seen her in a while so I just wanted to get something nice for her.” Oliwia said.
“That explains the f🤔k-ton of Sanrio things you bought.” Ara replied, putting the shirt back to pull out several Hello Kitty and My Melody-themed things, like barrettes, hair ties, and one Hello Kitty headband.
“You know, I kinda associate you with Pochacco, if that makes sense.” Nura chimed in, taking a sip of their coffee.
“Pochacco is the one who looks like Snoopy.” Nura explained. “I’ll explain more later, if you’re interested.”
“For some reason my sister really likes the one with the glasses.” the first girl said. Oliwia couldn’t help but smile a little bit. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the rude comments she got on Twitter. “Well, I don’t feel the same, but whatever floats her boat.”
—Meh, can’t impress everyone, I suppose—Oliwia thought. Better that than her and her cousin Laura’s family being threatened.
“Especially considering it reminds me of MY sister’s friend. A total weirdo.” the second girl added on. “It’s annoying as f**k, too.”
Nura, Ren, and Ara then looked at Oliwia with a mix of concern and horror. The ginger in question just shrugged. She was used to it, so it didn’t really affect her.
“I use it pronouns, remember.” Oliwia whispered to Ren, who just nodded as they continued to listen in.
Everything felt wrong. Her sleeves slowly began to cover her hands, and it felt like her teeth were painfully burrowing their way back into her gums.
“They literally brought up the Kamiński Trials and villainised Oliwia while doing so, Darby.” she heard Nura’s voice chime in. “They also called her the R word MULTIPLE times.”
“Whoever that girl’s sister is, I feel bad for her.” Ara scoffed. “An ableist AND a sl*t-shamer. God, what a piece of s🤔t.”
“So…what do we do now?” Ren asked. Oli then took the opportunity to turn toward her co-stars as opposed to staring at Darby’s chin. “I mean, she stayed a baby for a couple hours last time, but what if it’s for a few days, like you said?”